


Time is not an eraser

by all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Broken Hearts, Christmas Party, M/M, Old love story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:00:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15553215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music/pseuds/all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music
Summary: Like every year, all the Red Bull team members are invited to the Christmas party in Graz, Austria, where they all celebrate the end of the year in the hotel run by Mr Helmut Marko. Carlos left Toro Rosso in October to join Renault, but he received the invitation and he accepted to join his ex-colleagues one last time.But the party gave some surprises to the driver...





	Time is not an eraser

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [Il tempo non é una gomma da cancellare](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15590772) by [all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music](https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music/pseuds/all_u_need_is_motorsport_n_music)



> Sorry for the mistakes I may have made, but English is not my first language.  
> Hope you'll like the story anyway!

He came into the big dance room, which was basically one big space obtained by combining the two biggest conference rooms of the hotel. There he was, probably for the last time in his life, at the Red Bull Racing Christmas party. The party had just begun when Carlos arrived, but the dancefloor was already occupied by some of the mechanics, dancing to beat of the loud music.

Carlos recognised some of the people he worked with at Toro Rosso, but he didn't want to reach the dancefloor and ruin their nights with his not-really-cheerful mood. He ordered a beer at the bar and drank it while he was quietly drowning in the same thought that had never let him relax for more than one year. To be precise, since the German Grand Prix in 2016. The alcohol in that beer didn't help him to stop thinking about it, so he ordered a mojito. 

In the meantime "Mr Life-of-the-party" aka Daniel Ricciardo tried to convince him to get off that chair and dance with all the others, but the Spaniard replied that he wasn't drunk enough to dance well. After that answer Daniel promised to come back to him soon, but he never did and Carlos kept on drinking alcoholic stuff.

It was around midnight when the tables started to turn around.

"Sorry, can I sit down here?" A girl asked Carlos, indicating the chair next to his.  
"Yeah, sure" he replied, waking up from his usual daydream. Well, more like a daynightmare.  
"Thank you, I need some rest. Nice party, isn't it?" She asked.  
He stared at the girl for a couple of moments: he looked at her long blonde hair, at the few freckles which were not covered by her simple make-up, at her red lips and at her slightly tired eyes.  
"Yes, I agree. Especially the dancing" he told her with a grin. That was probably one of the biggest lies in his life, but he couldn't say that he tortured himself upon one stupid thought all night long. So he quickly started thinking about a way to change the topic.  
"Are you new? Maybe it's just me not remembering people, but I think it's the first time that I see you here"  
"Yeah. It's the first time I come to this party actually"  
"I should introduce myself then. Carlos, nice to meet you" he said, shaking the girl's hand.  
"Veronika. Nice to meet you, too".  
"So, what's your occupation at Red Bull?"  
"Oh, I don't work here. I am Max Verstappen's girlfriend" 

Carlos's heart was already broken, but that word broke those pieces into thousands of smaller ones. After all the love they shared, the promises they had told each other, the kisses, the endless nights spent together, Max had the courage to make up with a girl. The Spaniard couldn't believe it.

"Are you okay?" Veronika asked.  
"Yeah, don't worry" Carlos said with a cheerful voice, trying to fight back the tears. "I didn't know Max had a girlfriend"  
"Well, after a year and a half we decided to make our relationship public" the girl explained.

One year and a half. That meant that they got together soon after Max and Carlos broke up. Carlos was even more shocked. How he could have forgotten their relationship so fast?

Max came towards his girlfriend, saying something in Dutch to her.  
Carlos couldn't understand they conversation, but he understood that Max was not caressing her hair in that soft and romantic way just because they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He was sure that the Dutchman made it to make him suffer even more.

The girl left, leaving the two guys alone.  
"Can I talk to you in a quieter place?" Carlos asked with an angry tone.

 

~

 

"You have a girlfriend" Carlos started the conversation, after some endless silent minutes outside the hotel entrance.  
"Oh, you talked to her then. I know, she's such a nice and polite girl, don't you think?" Max teased his ex-teammate, hoping to put an end to it quickly. But he soon realized that teasing wouldn't have helped at all.  
"I can't believe it. You're telling me that you don't remember all those wonderful times together?!"  
Max didn't give an answer, he just rolled his eyes.  
The growing tension and anger inside Carlos made him exhale loudly and he lost his self control.  
"You don't remember that long car trip in Italy, where we sang every song that was coming on the radio out of our lungs?" The Renault driver shouted.  
"Do we really have to talk about it?" Max asked with an annoyed face but also with a sad voice, unable to hide his true feelings.  
"You don't remember our holiday in France, where you twisted your ankle skiing? You don't remember the endless laughters? You don't remember the passionate kisses you always gave me?"  
Max still didn't reply. The only thing he could do was looking at the ground. He didn't have the strenght to realize that Carlos's tears were all his fault.  
"You don't remember that Tuesday, when you decided to break up with me? You don't remember that fucking message, Max? Because I do. I do remember every detail of our past love. After one year and a half, I still think about all these things every day. And I feel sad when I think about it. You know why?"  
He paused for a moment to catch his breath, praying for Max to say something. But he didn't hear a noise.  
"Because I love you, ok? I always have. From our first race in Australia. I've always loved you and I haven't fucking stopped yet. I tried to forget you millions of times but I never succeded. It hurts me to realize that falling in love with you was the biggest mistake of my life"  
The guy opposite him still didn't say or do anything. That was enough.  
"But I see that you managed to forget me and everything between us. I'm happy for you. I wish I could have done that too. I wish you and Veronika the best for the future: apparently, you found someone you care about"

Carlos was about to walk away but, before he realized it, Max pulled him by his wrist and kissed him. He felt a sudden heat warming his body and his heart beating a lot faster.  
"I never forgot you. Two days after sending you that bloody message, I realized I had fucked up everything. It was all my fault. I wanted to fix it up so badly, but I was sure you would have never listened to me" Max finally spoke to Carlos, pulling the boy even closer.  
"I love you, Carlos. And I want to spend the rest of the night with you. I don't care if we won't be a couple ever again, this night MUST be ours" Carlos had the same idea.

 

~

 

It was around 6 a.m. when Carlos woke up, his head on Max's chest. He got up without making a sound, he put his underwear on and he moved to the window to look at the first rays of sunshine.  
"Good morning" Max came towards him, wrapping his arms around Carlos's waist.  
"Hey" Carlos replied, giving the boy a soft kiss on his cheek.

They stared at the sunrise for some time, while they were both thinking about asking the other person the same thing. It was Max who made the first step. 

"Carlos?" He asked with a bit of worry in his voice.  
"Yes?"  
"Do you still want to be my boyfriend?"  
"What about Veronika? She's a good-looking girl, after all".  
"I don't need her if I have you"  
"Same for me. You're the only person I need in my life"


End file.
